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Cops: More arrests in holdup of Atelier Jewelers in Floral Park

Police said that on Nov. 11, just before 2 p.m., the trio entered Atelier Jewelers on Woodbine Court and the men, armed with handguns, ordered the two employees to the floor.

Justice Brunson, 39, left, of Brooklyn, and Darkel Davis, 31, of Queens, have been arrested in the November 2017 holdup of Atelier Jewelers in Floral Park, Nassau County police said Feb. 8, 2018. Photo Credit: Composite; NCPD

The third member of a trio that robbed a Floral Park jewelry store in November has been arrested, police said.

Justice Brunson, 39, of Washington Avenue in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn, was ordered held on $500,000 bond, $350,000 cash bail at his arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead on charges of first-degree and second-degree robbery, records show.

Brunson was represented by Legal Aid, which typically does not comment on cases.

Police previously arrested two other suspects in the case.

Darkel Davis, 31, of Nashville Boulevard in Cambria Heights, Queens, was arrested last month and charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree criminal use of a firearm and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was ordered held on $300,000 bond or $150,000 cash bail after his arraignment on Jan. 23, officials said. He is due back in court on Tuesday.

Keisha Payton, 24, of Bethel Loop in East New York, Brooklyn, was arrested at the scene by responding Floral Park police officers and is charged with first-degree robbery. She was held on $100,000 cash bail or bond. That was lowered to $30,000 bond or $15,000 cash on Dec. 20, according to online court records. Those records indicate she posted bail on Dec. 22 and is due in court on March 23.

Both Payton and Davis are represented by Legal Aid, according to online court records.

Police said that on Nov. 11, just before 2 p.m., the trio entered Atelier Jewelers on Woodbine Court and the men, armed with handguns, ordered the two employees to the floor.

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Brunson and Davis then went through the display cases, stealing assorted jewelry, including watches, police said.

No one was injured in the robbery.

Police said that while Brunson and Davis were able to flee the scene, Payton was arrested as she fled the store.

Additional details were not immediately available, and it was unclear what information led police to arrest Brunson and Davis. During his arraignment, a temporary order of protection was also issued against Davis, according to court records.

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”